Old medical stuff

[Celt]

Recently finished rereading "Alas, Babylon", which was written in 1959. There were some medical items mentioned but I wasn't sure how safe and/or dated they may be. I'd appreciate anybody's wisdom and expertise on these:

1. Retinal flash burns: Tx- butyn sulfate (BTW what is it? is there a brand name?) on the eyes covered by a patch.

2. Bourbon as an anesthesia and antiseptic?

3. Shock: Tx- Water w/ baking soda and salt given to a concious pt.

Any thoughts?

[Reasonable Rascal]

I'll try my best to answer your questions.

1. Butyn sulfate. I cannot find any reference listing this medication, even in an opthalmic PDR. Might be long out of disfavor.

2. Bourbon or any other strong alcohol will have an anesthetic effect but is highly undesireable because of the other effects of alcohol on the system. Extremely last ditch in my opinion, and then not for any type of abdominal, chest, etc surgery. I'd reserve it, if it came to that, for setting a long bone or suturing. It is not without side effects in any case.

As an antiseptic it works to a point as does any alcohol. It burns badly, is poorly tolerated on open wounds, and alcohol is a poor antiseptic in any case. It takes more than a quick exposure to do any more than simply clean the dirt off.

3. The shock treatment mentioned is a way of introducing electrolytes into the system. Essentially what it treats is an electrolyte imbalance. It will do nothing for psychological, cardiogenic or shock caused by poisoning or anaphylaxis such as insect sting.

Provided the patient can tolerate liquids (keep them down) it would have some beneficial properties for burns (fluid loss), volume loss due to moderate bleeding (perhaps a couple of units - 1,000 ml - loss), dehydration due to excessive sweating, vomiting (once past same) and diarrhea. It's a very second best alternative. Gatorade, etc would accomplish the same and perhaps better because of the other minerals such as potassium they contain.

Good questions though. Alas Babylon is a favorite story. It does offer some relevant information. Lucifer's Hammer is a bit more up-to-date on the medical end so far as novels. I hope to address some of these issues in Patriot Aid Station as the story progresses.

RR

[cayoung]

In no particular order. The last fellow knows much more than I about butyn sulphate.

Alcohol as anaesthetic or analgesic is better than nothing, but not much better. I remember from my drinking days that if I came home with aches and pains from working on the truck (pulling wrenches makes my shoulders ache) that a couple beers made it a LOT worse.
So, I'd not want to use that in modern days. As for a cleaning agent, it would be better than nothing.

A couple decades ago the Red Cross had a mix for oral rehydration and shock therapy. IIRC, it was half a tsp of salt and a 1/4 tsp of baking soda (or some such) in a quart of water. Or there was another expeient mix with salt and sugar. I saw a post on ORT (Oral rehydration therapy) that looked really great. It seems they are sending packets of this stuff (probably salt, sugar, and baking soda) to the poor countries. Many babies die to diarrhea, and this greatly improves their chances of living. Hmm. Perhaps a thread on ORT is indicated.